Lame Rooster

[RoosterDoo]

Alright, I have a dilemma. I have a rooster. He is about one year old, and in the past couple weeks has gone from a slight limp to full on can’t put weight down. He just hobbles around on one leg, while the other he lifts and swings out in front of him, even when just standing there. The swinging leg seems to be attached in all the right places, but has lost muscle mass compared to the other, for obvious reasons. He constantly taps his foot on the ground when standing, but seems to forget about it when he’s being supported under that side. He does kneel a lot to support himself. He free ranges, eats cracked corn with some minerals and left overs. I currently have him living in a kennel and drinking B vitamins and have Nutri-Drenched him. Ideas?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Does he eat fortified chicken feed or just corn? Corn has no nutritional value. I would recommend an all flock feed and minimize the table scraps.
Is he your only chicken?
Does he live indoors or outside in a coop?
Can you take a picture of the bottoms of his feet and post?

 

[sourland]

For starters I would switch him to a grower or flock raiser diet.

 

[chickenpeeple]

For starters I would switch him to a grower or flock raiser diet.

good idea

 

[sylviethecochin]

Corn has no nutritional value.

Corn's actually pretty nutritious, though certainly not a complete diet. I think it just has a bad rep for being used as a filler in dog food.

 

[RoosterDoo]

He doesn’t just live on cracked corn and left overs alone... and it’s not just cracked corn. It has other things in it like DDG, alfalfa, sileage, and other mineral ingredients. Corn is not nutritionless, it is merely nutrient deficient in some areas. Just like all food, it is not a one and done feed source.

He does not have bumble foot. The bottoms are yellow and without lumps.

He used to live in a small coop with 9 other birds and free ranges all day. These 9 are the only ones free ranging. Out of 200+ birds he is the only one doing this. They all get the same feed.

I’m thinking, he slipped or twisted a tendon. Or he had a B vitamin deficiency. Either way, I am looking for rehab and medication options.

The last bird I had similar to this was 4 years ago. He was under 4 months went downhill quick and died suddenly. We burned his body and disposed of the ashes. At the time we thought Mareks, but no one else showed symptoms. We have since moved and this rooster has had no contact with that flock.